Back to One
A podcast about acting -- just the work. by Peter Rinaldi
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Back to One Podcast: Grace Rex on Making Comedic Choices, the “Bizarre” Endeavor of Auditioning, and Keeping Her Bunny Alive
Grace Rex has been a series regular on the British sitcom High and Dry, a recurring guest star on The Good Wife, and had roles in Master of None, Mindhunter and Boardwalk Empire, among many other TV shows and films. For me, her finespun and hilarious work in Ingrid Jungermann’s Women Who Kill solidified her place among the uniquely talented comedic actors to watch. We talk about one special moment in that film, the “bizarre” endeavor of auditioning, and NOT getting into a co-dependent relationship with acting. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes,… Read more
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Back to One Podcast: Actor Theodore Bouloukos Talks “Sleuthing” Out a Character, Diving Into Roles and Childhood Fascinations
We really get to know the brilliant actor Theodore Bouloukos in this hour. He lets us peek in on him as a child fascinated, perhaps to a peculiar degree, with design, typography, and channel logos. And then what led him to performance art with Brock Enright and others, and the “self training” of student film parts that led to feature roles and works exhibited and staged the world over. We learn the components that now make him a unique talent in the New York film world. I am thrilled and privileged that we get to take a journey inside the… Read more
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Back to One: Stage Veteran John Christopher Jones Talks Fighting for the Part, Loving the Text, and not Letting Parkinson’s Have the Last Word
John Christopher Jones is a veteran “actor’s actor” with many Broadway shows including Simon Gray’s Otherwise Engaged (directed by Harold Pinter), Hurlyburly (directed by Mike Nichols), The Iceman Cometh (with Jason Robards), and Shaw’s Heartbreak House. He is the subject of a documentary film, The Endgame Project, which follows him in his tenth year with Parkinson’s as he rehearses and performs Beckett’s masterpiece. A “text-lover” through and through, he continues to translate the major plays of Chekov (he received a Lortel Award for his version of The Cherry Orchard) and work on his memoir. I’ve often heard the word “craftsman”… Read more
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Back to One Podcast: Keith Poulson on Developing as an Actor in the NY Indie Film Scene.
There is, perhaps, no actor at the moment more synonymous with New York indie filmmaking than Keith Poulson. His uncanny comedic sensibilities first caught my attention in Bob Byington’s Somebody Up There Likes Me. He’s since honed his mastery of the low-key “throwaway” in dozens of low budget gems and appeared in nearly everything made recently by the prolific Brooklyn filmmakers Alex Ross Perry and Nathan Silver. He got to stretch his wings a bit in Zach Clark’s Little Sister, where he played a severely disfigured Iraq War veteran. We talk about the incestuous world of independent film acting in… Read more
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Back to One Podcast: Set it Up Star Zoey Deutch on “Process, not Outcome” and the Miracle of the Pizza Scene
Not every ingénue is deserving of the attention Zoey Deutch is about to get. But this 23 year old already has the miraculous and mysterious skill of a veteran actor. Since her brilliantly nuanced performance in Flower, I have wanted to find out the secret to her magic. Her natural talent shines equally bright in heart-wrenching dramas such as Before I Fall and wild comedies like The Year of Spectacular Men. And now she has delivered a rom-com-pantheon-worthy performance opposite Glen Powell in the Netflix film Set It Up. We talk about “process and not outcome,” being “right for a… Read more
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Ten Episodes In, A Short Introduction to the Back to One Podcast
Back to One is not a normal interview podcast. There is no greeting, no elaborate guest introduction, no banter, no small talk, no inane humor, no plugs, no closing. Just one actor every episode discussing their own approach to the craft, and one big (perhaps foolish) attempt at something pure. I love actors. As a filmmaker, I believe it is of the upmost importance to love them. But I am ashamed to admit that, at the same time, the filmmaker in me is kind of afraid of actors. Specifically, I am terrified that I am going to give an actor… Read more
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Back to One: Actor Glen Powell on Developing His Process and Starring in the Netflix Comedy, Set it Up
Glen Powell gives me hope for the future of the movie industry. He crushed the role of legendary astronaut John Glenn in Hidden Figures and donned some ’80s duds in Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some, but he really grabbed my attention in the brand new Netflix rom-com Set It Up, where, in my humble opinion, he has crafted a classic, for-all-time, romantic lead performance opposite the incomparable Zoey Deutch. We talk about his process in general and do a deep dive into his work in Set It Up in particular. And by the end, I come closer to understanding why… Read more
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Back to One: Back to the Future Actor and The Year of Spectacular Men Director Lea Thompson on How Actors Need to be “Director-Proof”
Lea Thompson has a lot of wisdom to share. Her work as an actor spans three decades with hit films like the Back To The Future trilogy and Some Kind of Wonderful to successful television shows like Caroline in the City and Switched at Birth. She recently started a second chapter as a director. Her first feature film The Year of Spectacular Men (opening Friday June 15th) stars her daughters, Madelyn and Zoey Deutch, and was written by Madelyn. We talk about how this true family affair was stitched together with nothing but love, and how actors need to be… Read more
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Back to One: Margaret and Nancy Star J. Smith-Cameron on Stage, Screen and Her “Inner Actor”
The brilliant J. Smith-Cameron blew us away in Margaret (written and directed by her husband, Kenneth Lonergan) and in the acclaimed series Rectify. Currently she’s starring in the new play Peace For Mary Frances (with Lois Smith), and the praiseworthy film Nancy (written and directed by Christina Choe and co-staring Andrea Riseborough and Steve Buscemi), which opens Friday June 8th. We talk extensively about her work in the latest two pieces and how her desire for rehearsal is sometimes satisfied in a roundabout way on a TV shoot. She also shares what she does right before she steps on the… Read more
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Back to One, Episode Seven: Blue Bloods and Candy Jar Star Sami Gayle on Getting to Know her Characters and Navigating an Early Career
Sami Gayle has played Nicky Reagan on the hit CBS drama Blue Bloods for eight seasons, performed on Broadway a few times, acted opposite Adrien Brody in her first film, and she’s only 22. She now stars in Candy Jar, a fun and smart new Netflix film set in the world of high school debate, which was written by her brother Chad. We talk about the unique way the work deepens when you have played a character over a period of time, and why “quality over quantity” is the approach she’s taking with her career. This episode can be listened… Read more
